Insanity
by AmeliaDarkholme
Summary: Would you take a girl from her father because you think his insanity makes him a bad father? My name is Astrid Malfoy, I'm fifteen. My father is Draco Malfoy, and I lost my mother Astoria when I was only 2 months old. This is the story of me and my insane father trying to survive this insane world. -Dramione, EWE, inspired by I Am Sam. -ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

**SUMMARY: **When people tried to take his daughter from him, a broken and insane Draco Malfoy had to fight for her. Would he be able to get her back, with the help from the least person he expected; Hermione Granger?

**CHARACTERS:**

Draco Malfoy : Brad Pitt

Hermione Granger : Winona Ryder

Astrid Malfoy : Elle Fanning

Blaise Zabini : Eric Bana

Ernie Macmillan : Daniel Craig

Hugo Weasley : Colin Ford

James Potter : Charlie Rowe

Harry Potter : Tom Cruise

Ginny Weasley : Parker Posey

Narcissa Malfoy : Meryl Streep

Ron Weasley : Johnny Lee Miller

Astoria Malfoy : Talulah Riley

Daphne Greengrass : Nicole Kidman

Theodore Nott : Hugh Jackman

Pansy Parkinson : Famke Janssen

**NOTES: **In case you're wondering, and I'm not going to lie about it, I'll admit that this story is strongly inspired by the movie _I Am Sam _(2001). It's one of my favourite story and I just thought of trying to write a fanfiction based on it. This story is EWE, sets 22 years after the War.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own anything you find familiar. They all belong to J. K. Rowling the wonderful world of _Harry Potter_; and Kristine Johnson and Jessie Nelson for the beautiful plot of _I Am Sam._

* * *

Insanity.

The word you hear almost all the time.

The word you say almost all the time.

But, I doubt you even know the meaning.

How can you tell one is insane when the world itself is insane? How can you tell that someone in your family is insane? How can you tell that _you _yourself is insane? How? Did the person act weirdly that you think he or she is insane? Did you go to a psychologist, or a psychiatrist to find out about it? Or probably, did you just assume it all alone?

And when you've found the truth, what would you do? Would you be so cruel and take a daughter away from her father, only because you think his insanity makes him a bad father? Would you be so heartless that you ignore their cries and pleas, convincing yourself that it's for the best? Or maybe, you'd be so ignorant you wouldn't realise that the separation between the father and the daughter is actually going to destroy the girl forever. Is that what you're going to do?

I lost my mother when I was only two months old. My father was at work when filthy scumbags came to our house and murdered my mum. They were the sons and daughters of the fallen Death Eaters, seeking revenge because of what my father had done to their parents. According to evidence and witnesses and their testimony, they came around 7 o'clock at night. My mother heard a loud rang all over the house, a sign that someone had trespassed our boundaries. She put me into a sleep with a spell, and went to check who was coming to our house. They practically barged into our house, knocking the antique vases and statues. They didn't waste their time at all and began to tortue my mother until she begged for death. Exactly an hour later, my father came home, only to find his wife lying lifeless in the cold ground of our house.

Daddy was never the same man he was after Mummy's death.

Borrowing what all the psychologists and psychiatrists said, he became insane.

My name is Astrid Malfoy. My father is Draco Malfoy, and my mother was Astoria Malfoy. This is a story of how my insane father and I try to live in this insane world.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Yeah, I know this is so short. It's a prologue, see ;) I'm going post the first chapter soon and I promise it'll be longer.

Tell me what you think about it.

Amelia :)


	2. My Life Was All Right

Astrid was awakened roughly when the train stopped. She blinked for a few times until the sleep was gone from her eyes. She closed the book in her lap, although she hadn't bookmarked the page. She could already see the familiar blonde head of her father in the sea of parents, who probably had waited for their children to go back from summer since two hours before the train arrived. Grabbing her trunk, she began to make her way off the train, ignoring all the sneers from her fellow schoolmates. One girl, Tamara Davies, daughter of Roger Davies and Cho Chang, intentionally tripped Astrid that she almost fell right on her face. As if it wasn't enough, Tamara dumped pumpkin juice on Astrid's head. Tamara's and her gang's shrilly laughter filled Astrid's ear as she gathered herself to stand.

"That's a little gift from me, _freak,_" Tamara spat. Astrid gave no comment, merely tried to get away from those people as soon as possible, her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes.

With her tall-build that she inherited from her father, Astrid could easily reach her father, pushing through crowds. She sucked on the tears that were threatening to fall and put on a brave smile. She silently hoped that her father wouldn't realise her wet hair and orange-tainted shirt. She then saw her father spotted her, and gave her a wave.

"...see, Astoria? I told you she'll be here soon," she heard her father said when she neared him.

"Hi, Dad!" Astrid chirped, practically hugging him. A single tear escape her eye when she felt the familiar safety her father always gave her for the last fifteen years. There was something about the way him hugging her that made her felt so safe; made her felt like nothing in the world could harm her.

"Hey, kiddo," Draco greeted. "Oh, dear Merlin, how I missed you."

Astrid let go of her father and giggled. "I missed you too, Daddy. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Your mother and I went to visit your Grandma last week," Draco said. He wrapped an arm around Astrid's shoulder as they made their way toward their car, completely unaware with all the stares that were aimed at him. Astrid noticed it, but she tried to push it away, like she always did.

"What did you guys do?" she asked. Draco shrugged, putting his daughter's trunk inside the baggage before entering the car.

"Nothing. Just dinner and a little tour around Paris." He stopped, observing his fifteen year old daughter closely. "Why do you look like you just had a swim in a pumpkin-juice pool?"

"What?" Astrid said, playing dumb. Draco didn't answer immediately. He turned on the engine of the car, and it was a few minutes later that he answered.

"I'm not stupid, you know. I _am_ crazy, but I'm not stupid," he said, barely audible. "I know what you're facing at school. I know that, Astrid."

"Oh, Daddy –"

Draco raised a hand up, and Astrid was silenced instantly. "I know that your friends hate you for being so beautiful and so smart, I know that they mock you for having a father like me; an ex-Death Eater. And I'm sorry that I'm not the kind of father you want."

"Dad, you listen to me, okay," Astrid said, taking one of her father's big hand. "You are the best father a girl can ever ask. I don't care that what you were and you weren't. All I care is when I'm with you, I'm happy; when I'm with you, I'm safe. So, don't you dare to feel guilty about not being a good father, 'cause you are. You are the best father in this whole fucking world, Dad."

Draco snorted a laugh. "Your mother said mind your language, young lady."

"Sorry, Mum," Astrid said, smiling. She threw a glance to the backseat of the car, which was empty.

No one sat there. No one _ever_ sat there.

"Where do you want to go now?" Draco said, having known for the last four years, Astrid never wanted to go straight home after she was back from Hogwarts. The Malfoy Manor, albeit all the renovations, was still too ghastly for Astrid.

"Can we go to Florean Fortescue? And then to Flourish and Blotts. I've this new book I wanted to buy since months ago," Astrid suggested. Draco nodded.

"Your mother said she wanted to go, too. Right, Astoria?"

As always, there was no respond. Not that Draco or Astrid expected one.

Astoria Malfoy had been dead for fifteen years.

And for the last fifteen years, Draco Malfoy had been talking to imaginary-Astoria.

* * *

_Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour _was always filled with wizards and witches from all ages. After the War, the shop was ran by Florean's grandson, Francis. He hired lots of new waiters and waitresses, seeing that he wouldn't be able to serve all customers by himself. The first day summer and the last day of summer were probably the day when people came to the Parlour the most. The Malfoys tried to make their away against all other customers, and sat on the most secluded side of the place. They waited for awhile until a waitress came to take their order.

"Hello, good after noon. My name Lisa. What do you want to order?" the waitress said.

"One caramel ice cream with cinder toffee pieces for me," Astrid said, having memorised the usual one she had whenever she came there with her God parents Blaise and Pansy Zabini. Astrid had never been to the Parlour with Draco before, hence the reason why she was wanted to take Draco with her that day.

"And you, sir?" Lisa, the waitress, asked Draco.

"Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate-covered strawberries for me, and chocolate cookies in vanilla ice cream for my wife," Draco said, much to Astrid's horror.

"Your – "

"He's just joking," Astrid quickly said. "Can our order be quick? We're really thirsty."

The waitress eyed Draco closely, who merely stared back at her. The staring contest ended when Lisa shrugged and went to make their order. Draco leaned on his seat, his piercing grey eyes watched his daughter, who seemed like she was immensely interested with her painted nails.

"How was school?" Draco asked, catching Astrid off her guard.

"School? Well, it was okay. I got Os for Potion, Transfiguration, Charms, DADA; and Es for Astronomy, Rune and Arithmancy."

"Quidditch?"

Astrid bowed her head down. "Corner still won't let me play."

Draco closed his eyes and sighed. "People don't always notice this, but Ravenclaws can get so inadequate when they're vengeful. People always think the drama is within Slytherin and Gryffindors. They don't know that Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are no better at all."

"It's okay, though. I can study more this way. Probably next year, I'll be able to beat Hugo Weasley," Astrid said. Draco cringed upon hearing the name.

"It's still really weird for me to hear a Weasley being your biggest rival. I thought it'd be Potter's son, to be honest."

Astrid scoffed. "James Potter? That guy is too stupid for his own good. He's actually really smart, but he's just too lazy. What a retard."

Draco smiled but said nothing. He thought of how funny it was that his daughter was probably Harry Potter's and Ron Weasley's sons biggest rival in almost everything. Hugo Weasley, taking after his mother, was the smartest student in Hogwarts. Astrid was the second, and James was the fifth. If he wanted to, like in some special cases such as Quidditch and mischief-making, James could be better than Astrid or even his cousin. But, just like Astrid said, he was too lazy to try harder.

"One caramel ice cream with cinder toffee pieces for this young lady," Lisa said with their order, snapping Draco off his thoughts. "And vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate-covered strawberries for you, sir."

"What about – "

Astrid sent a look at Draco, who quickly shut his mouth. "Thank you, Lisa," Astrid said, giving a small smile. Lisa nodded.

"Enjoy your ice cream," she said and went away to serve another customer.

"I'm sorry," Draco said once Lisa was out her hearing. Astrid shook her head, heaving deeply.

"No, Dad. You don't have to be sorry. It's okay. Don't think about it. Let's just eat our ice cream so we can go to _Flourish and Blotts_."

Draco nodded and ate his ice cream obediently like a child of three. He couldn't help it. He couldn't stop himself from acting as if his wife was still alive. His sweet, beautiful, wife... Blaise had brought him to all psychologists and psychiatrists, both from the wizarding world and Muggle world. They all said the same thing; Draco had turned insane because of his wife's death – and there was no way for him to be sane again if he didn't learn to accept her death. That was the problem though; Draco couldn't accept Astoria's death. How hard he tried, he just couldn't. There were times when he wanted to die and leave all his problems behind. Had it been not for Astrid, he'd take his life already since fifteen years ago.

They finished their ice cream in silence and hurried off to _Flourish and Blotts_. For the umpteenth since she reached the age of eleven, Astrid noticed how people stared at both her and Draco. She knew what they were thinking; the evil ex-Death Eater and his soon-to-be-evil daughter. If they had known that Draco Malfoy was insane, they'd probably have a field day. It hurt her to know that after all these years, people still couldn't find it in their hearts to accept her father. She knew of his participation in the Wizarding World War 2, but it wasn't his fault at all. He was forced to join by his bastard of a father, and younger Draco was scared shitless to defy his father. Astrid wanted nothing more than to go back in time and punched Lucius Malfoy's dick.

"Hey, you're Draco Malfoy, right?" a man said when Astrid was searching for books with Draco by her side. Both Malfoys turned around to face the man. He was short, really skinny, and his skin was shriveled.

"Yeah, who are you?" Draco said stiffly. He didn't like it when people recognised him. The man smirked.

"What's a Pureblood bastard like you doing here, huh?" the man said.

"First of all, I'm here with my daughter, accompanying her to buy some books she wants. Second of all, I won't be talking with a wanker like you who won't even tell me his name."

The man shrugged. "Zacharias Smith is the name. Remember me? Same guy you tortured during seventh year?"

An image of a screaming and thrusting eighteen year old boy came into Draco's mind, and he unconsciously shuddered. Astrid watched her father worriedly. All the shrinks they went to warned her that Draco couldn't get too stressed up.

"Excuse me, Mr Smith. But we have to go," Astrid said. "Come on, Dad. Let's go... Nice meeting you, Mr Smith. Good day."

They were on their way to the cashier when Zacharias Smith shouted, "How's your wife, Malfoy?"

Draco stopped so abruptly Astrid collided into his back. "My wife?" he whispered.

"Yes, your wife. She's dead, yes? Your old friends killed them."

"Daddy, let's just go out of here," Astrid said, pushing Draco, urging him to move. It was to no avail though, as Draco was two times bigger than she was.

"My wife... Astoria..." Draco whispered once more, his hands began to tremble. There was a sick, satisfied smirk on Zacharias' face, and Astrid was so tempted to wipe it off his face. Literally.

"Served her right. Children of Death Eaters should be dead. Too bad I wasn't the one who killed her." By then, Draco was already shaking from top-to-toe.

"Daddy, come on," Astrid said, almost begging. Draco ignored her. Instead, he turned around to face Zacharias again, eyes narrowed murderously.

"Take it back," Draco snarled. "My wife and her family weren't Death Eaters. They were good people. A hundred times better than you, Smith."

"I doubt that," Zacharias scoffed. "How can a bitch like her, wife of an ex-Death Eater, be much better than me? You lot maniacs deserved whatever the society threw at you."

"Stop saying things about my family," Draco hissed, taking a step closer toward Zacharias.

"Oh, I'll say whatever I want about your screwed up family and your bitch of a wife and your dau – "

Draco's fist had collided with Zacharias' jaw so hard Astrid believed she heard a breaking sound. Her father didn't stop there. He tackled Zacharias to the ground and began to punch his face repeatedly. People started to scream, shout, yell. It was a total chaos. Astrid and the shop-owner tried to stop Draco, but they couldn't. Draco had lost it. All he knew was the bastard had called his wife a bitch and initiating on calling his daughter names.

"Dad, STOP IT!" Astrid shouted.

"NO!" Draco screamed. Before he knew it, his hand flew and slapped his daughter in the face, so hard that she lost her balance.

"Oh my God!" a woman exclaimed. "He slapped his own daughter!"

"Merlin, keep him away from her!" another one yelled.

Draco stared at his hand, the one that had slapped Astrid, whose lip had split from the force of the slap. He had never slept her. He didn't like it when his father beat him in his childhood. He swore to never hurt his child, whether it be a girl or a boy. When Draco looked into her eyes, all he saw was fear. The same look people always had whenever they looked at him. Guilt was began to eat him, the fact that he had just slapped his daughter. He let out a shaky breath as he dropped on his knees, his face buried in his hand.

"Astoria, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to slap her."

"Astoria?" a blood-covered Zacharias wondered aloud, attracting a lot of attention. "Why is he saying his dead wife's name?" Astrid quickly made her way toward Draco, knowing that he was in a really big trouble. Both of them were in a big trouble.

"Daddy, I'm okay. See? I'm fine. Let's go," Astrid said, pulling her father to stand. Draco didn't acknowledge it all.

"I swear, I didn't meant to slap her, Astoria," Draco said again, tears falling from his eyes, running both his blood-covered hands through his hair. "I-I was angry at Smith and she got in the way. Dear Merlin, I'm so sorry."

"He's crazy," Zacharias said. "Draco Malfoy is insane! Call the Aurors! They have to lock him up, away from this poor girl."

"No!" Astrid screamed. "He's not insane. He's just a bit shaken. He'll be fine. Come on, Dad. We have to go _now._"

Draco didn't move. He kept on talking to himself, muttering his dead wife's name. People began to gather around him, whispering and muttering things about him. One of them had already called the Auror Department. It was so noisy Astrid felt like her ears were buzzing. She could see Zacharias Smith was smirking so wide, knowing that he had got what he wanted.

"I know I'm a bad father, Astoria. I know that. I'm really sorry."

"See? He's insane!"

"What? Draco Malfoy's insane?"

"It should've been me, not you. _I _should die, not you."

"He's talking to his dead wife?"

"Dad, come on. Stop it."

"Merlin's beard, he _is _insane."

"Madness runs in his family. Bellatrix Lestrange, remember?"

"My father's not mad!"

"Miss Malfoy, please come with us," someone said, an Auror, taking her by her arm. Two others began to pull her father away from her. She yanked her hand off and ran toward Draco.

"You can't take my father!" she cried. "He's my father! He won't do anything bad to me."

"He just slapped you, girl," one of the Auror said. "We can't risk anything like that to happen anymore. He's got bad record and it's hard to trust someone with such record as his. Not to mention, from the looks of it, he's lost his mind."

"No, no, no... You don't understand. My father is all right. He's just- he's just shaken. He's not insane, or crazy, or mad. _He's all right._" She took Draco's hand and gripped it firmly, tears falling profusely from her eyes. "Dad, please. Tell them they can't take you away."

That seemed to break Draco out of his trance. He started to realise his surrounding again; how his daughter cried, how people stared at him, how two Aurors were pulling him to some God-forsaken place. As if there was a switch, he was back into his normal self.

"Let me go. I'm fine," he said coolly.

"No, we can't, Mr Malfoy. You just assaulted a man, hit your daughter, and you're not in your right mind. We're taking you to the Ministry right now," another Auror said.

"You can't do that. I've all the rights to object," Draco said, struggling from their hold.

"You can present your rights along with the case in the Ministry next week. For now, you're to come with us to the Ministry."

The Aurors pulled Astrid away so hard Draco almost thought she'd torn his arm off because of how she was clinging to his arms. "Dad, please don't – let me go!" Astrid screamed when an Auror tried to lift her off the ground, pulling her metres apart from Draco. She elbowed the Auror's ribs and started to run from the Aurors as fast as her longs legs could take her.

"Astrid, run!" Draco yelled at his daughter's retreating figure. "Run and I promise I'll be back home soon. I love you girl."

The last thing he saw before the Aurors took him with them was an Auror Petrified his little girl.

* * *

**Author's Note**

I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED THIS CHAPTER. OMG, I WAS SO STUPID.

Really sorry for those of you who are confused about why this chapter was deleted. And go check the first chapter again if you forget on which actors/actresses portray your favourite characters, okay? ;) Also, if you're wondering, Astrid is in Ravenclaw, Hugo and James are in Gryffindor.

Tell me what you think about this chapter, and thanks a lot for reading!

Amelia


	3. Until They Took My Father From Me

Draco stared at the handcuff around his wrists, restless upon what he knew would happen to him. He always hated the Ministry of Magic. Always. He had only been to the Ministry twice, and he hated both times. The first time he went there was for his trial for all his participation during the War. The second time was for the case of his wife's death. Now, he was in the Ministry again, for a case he had always feared since the time he was declared insane. His brilliant mind began to think what he was going to do if his greatest fear happened. He may be insane, but he was still smart. He'd do everything he could, even if he was going to lose himself in the process.

He heard the door creaked opened, and an Auror entered the room. It was until the Auror sat right in front of him that Draco realised the Auror was actually his childhood nemesis, Harry Potter. Draco grew more uncomfortable in Harry's presence. Not because he feared him, but because he was aware that if he did something wrong, albeit only a little, Harry had all the power to send him to Azkaban, away from Astrid. They didn't talk for quite a long time, observing each other closely almost without blinking. It was Harry who broke the silence first.

"Draco Malfoy," he began. "Do you know why are you here today?"

"Yeah. You lot wanted to take my daughter from; my _own _flesh and blood," Draco snarled.

"You forgot something there, Malfoy. We _are _going to take your daughter from you, but there's a reason to it."

"A reason that's so ridiculous – "

"You are mentally disturbed – "

" – and I'll do everything in my power to – "

" – assaulting some and cause ruckus – "

" – the bastard called my wife a – "

" – and you also hit your daughter."

"How dare you!" Draco bellowed, trying so hard not to jump on Harry out of anger. "I'd never hit my daughter on purpose!"

"Why did you do it, then?" Harry shot back. "Why did you hit your own daughter? You can't deny that you didn't. A lot of people saw it."

"Well, like what your so-called witnesses said, she got in the way when I was beating the crap out of your dickhead friend! I love my daughter more than everything, even more than – "

"Mr Potter?" a voice said, knocking on the door, cutting off Draco's words. The blonde was incredibly seething in anger as he clenched his jaw in anger. A woman's head poked over the door, her attention was all set on Harry.

"Yes, Maggie?"

"Mrs Malfoy is here, and she's with Mr Zabini. Shall I – "

"Potter asked to see me, you retarded imbecile!" another voice was heard, pushing the door opened. There, stood a Narcissa Malfoy with her Godson and Draco's best friend, Blaise Zabini. "Even if he doesn't want me here, I'm here for my son," she spat.

"It's okay, Maggie. But, you might have to wait with Zabini – "

"Oh no, Potter," Narcissa immediately said. "I've always thought Blaise as my own, and I practically raised him as his mother was never there for him anyway. He _has _to stay here. I'm not hiding anything that happens to Draco from him."

"Fine," Harry gritted, stopping himself from rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Do what you want."

There was a triumphant smirk on Narcissa's face, the one that Harry had seen hundreds of times before on Draco's face during their days as students in Hogwarts together. She graciously sat on Draco's right, while Blaise sat on Draco's left. He, unlike his best friend, was considerately quiet than Draco would ever be. He rarely talked, but nothing could ever escape his keen and observing eyes. But, quite ironically, he could never mask his true emotions like Draco always did if something was troubling him. Narcissa, on the other hand, was perfectly poised and controlled than her son or her Godson. It was easy to say that Narcissa inherited her calmness to Draco; something that Harry noticed Sirius and Bellatrix didn't have.

"So, Potter," Narcissa began. "Do you mind to tell me what are the charges against my son? And can you please take off the handcuff from his hands? I think it's not necessary. I guarantee you my son won't harm anyone." Harry hesitated for a moment but in the end, he tapped his wand on the handcuff, and it disappeared instantly.

"Well," Harry said, checking the Draco's files that he'd been holding. "Draco Malfoy has assaulted one Zacharias Smith in _Flourish and Blotts_ at approximately 3 o'clock this afternoon, and slapped his own daughter Astrid Malfoy. According to his record here, fifteen years ago, he was declared mentally disturbed by ten Muggle psychiatrists and psychologists, and seven wizarding psychiatrists and psychologists. Are you aware of this?"

"Yes, I am aware of my son's mental health. It was actually me who asked Blaise to take him to see the psychologists and psychiatrists," Narcissa answered calmly. "But exactly eight years ago, he was declared stable as long as he isn't too stressed up."

"How long has his daughter, _your _granddaughter, lived with him?" Harry asked. It was Blaise who answered it this time.

"For all her life, Astrid has lived with her father. She's never away from him, except when she's at Hogwarts. My Goddaughter doesn't want to be away from Draco. She _loves _him," Blaise said coolly, so cool Harry was almost taken aback by his tone.

"Has Malfoy never shown any unstable action towards Astrid?"

"Are you implying whether he's hurt her or not?" Narcissa said, her eyes were now narrowed into slits. Harry nodded his head as an answer.

"You can use Legillimens on every each of Draco's House Elves, and they all would say no. It won't be fair if you ask me or Blaise, as we'd definitely say no. So try asking the Elves," Narcissa said, her tone only a tad lighter than Blaise's. "My son loves Astrid more than anything in his life. She _is _his life. What's happened today is something he unconsciously did."

"But, that's the problem, Mrs Malfoy," Harry shot. "What if something like that happens again? What if Malfoy has unconsciously harmed his daughter again? We can't risk that to happen."

"That won't happen," both Narcissa and Blaise said firmly at the same time. Draco couldn't stop himself from smirking slightly.

"Draco will never hurt Astrid. You don't know how much he's punishing himself at the moment. You don't know how much the guilt _kills _him slowly at the moment. You don't know a shit about it, Potter," Blaise added, anger was visible in his brown eyes. He glared daringly at Harry, who stared back at him. The staring contest was ended by Harry himself. The green-eyed man cleared his throat, checking the papers in his hand absentmindedly.

"I think it's enough for today," Harry said. "We will meet again on Monday, 16th of June 2020 for the first hearing of the court. Draco Malfoy, you are given a Magi-lawyer by the Ministry to support you with the case, unless you can find one yourself. Until then, you are allowed to prepare yourself for the court, and your daughter is to stay away from you. She's going to stay with the Child Care Department until this case is finished. But, you can visit her every day for three hours each day."

From all the things Harry said, Draco only heard one thing.

"What?" he said loudly. "Astrid's not going back home with me?"

"No, Malfoy. You aren't allowed to be more than three hours with her."

"That's bullshit!" Draco said loudly, lifting himself off his seat so abruptly it rolled over. "Why the hell am I not allowed to be with her?"

"Draco, be quiet," Narcissa said, holding her son's arm to calm him down. He ignored her.

"I am sorry about that, Malfoy, but I'm not the one who wrote the rules. It was written four hundreds years ago, by – "

"I don't give a rat's shit about who wrote the damn rules. All that matters to me is why I can't take my girl home with me?"

"I told you, that's not my – "

"Well, _you're _Harry Potter! Do something about it!" Draco bellowed. "I am _not _leaving this shithole without Astrid!"

"Malfoy, if you don't leave, I'm going to call the Aurors and take you to Az – "

"Do it!" Draco challenged. "I don't – "

"Draco!" Narcissa shouted in his ears, shutting him up. "Please, don't make everything worse. I don't want you to be taken away like your father did," Narcissa whispered. She remembered when her husband was taken to Azkaban, and was Kissed by the Dementors. The memory of her beloved husband screaming, slowly losing himself, still haunted her every dream.

"But, Mother, they are – "

"I know what they are trying to do," Narcissa said impatiently. "And I promise you, I'll help you through everything they make you to go through. For now, just do as you're told. Do you understand?"

"Mother – "

"_Do you understand, Draco?" _The tall blonde closed his eyes and swallowed back all the anger in him.

"Yes," Draco sighed. Narcissa smiled, patting his cheek softly.

"Good. Now, Potter, can you _please _let him see his daughter? Just for five minutes and then I'll take him back home."

If she was to be honest, Narcissa wasn't expecting him to agree so easily. She was rather surprised when Harry said, "Of course."

Astrid was waiting with two Aurors, one male and one female, when Harry took the Malfoys and Blaise to see her. She was crying like a child of three, and kept on saying that she wanted to see her father. She literally tackled Draco to the ground with a bone-crushing hug when she saw him. Draco calmed himself down and stroke her long hair, whispering words that he knew meant nothing at all as he tried to stop himself from crying as well. He could feel Astrid's tears wetting the front of his chest.

"They said I can't go back home with you," Astrid whispered against his chest. "Is that right? Please tell me that they're lying. _Please, Dad. _I don't want to be apart from you."

"I'm afraid, Princess, they were telling the truth," Draco said. "After what's happened today, they decided that it's not good for you to stay close with me, fearing that I'll hurt you again."

Astrid looked up at him, her eyes were puffy from hours of crying. "But, what happened today was an accident. You'll never hurt me. I know you won't. Tell them that so they won't take me from you."

Draco shook his head. "I did, Astrid, but they just wouldn't listen to me. I'm sorry, but it seems that you're going to stay in the Child-care Centre from now on."

"I don't want to stay there," Astrid said. "I want to stay with you. I'm _your _daughter. I _have _to stay with you. That's my birth right."

"I'm sorry, Astrid," Draco whispered, kissing his daughter's forehead. "But, I promise you, I will do everything to get us to be together again. I promise, Astrid."

"Time's up, Malfoy," Harry said. He'd been watching the scene in silent and as much as he hated his childhood nemesis, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. If this happened to him, if the world was trying to take his Lily from him, he'd probably die right away. Harry wouldn't even stand a second if it was him.

"I'll see you again tomorrow, love," Draco said, gathering himself to stand. He closed his eyes and quickly made his way for the exit without looking back. He knew if he did, he wouldn't have it in him to leave Astrid.

"Dad, don't go!" Astrid screamed. She tried to run after him, but the male Auror had effectively held her, stopping the tall girl from running. She struggled so hard from his grip, kicking his shin and nudging his ribs as hard as she could.

"Let me go! I don't want to stay here! I want to be with my father!" she screamed, so loud her screaming was Harry bet the whole Ministry could hear it.

"Daddy!" she screamed, killing Draco even more. "Daddy, you promised me! Your promised me years ago that you'll never leave me alone! You promised me!"

As soon as they were in the Apparation point, Narcissa Apparated all of them right into the Malfoy Manor, knowing that in his state, Draco would've Splinched himself. He broke down almost instantly when his feet touched the living room of his Manor, his knees giving out as sobs went out of his mouth. Narcissa knelt down beside him, hugging him like she used to do when Draco was still a little boy. Her own tears were falling down so hard, her heart ached for her only son. So much had happened to him, and yet the universe didn't seem to feel satisfied enough. He'd lost his wife that he loved so much, and now he was going to lose his daughter. Narcissa feared that Draco was ruining himself to the point of no return.

Draco cried for almost an hour, and Narcissa stayed by his side, her hand stroking his hair in a way he just did to Astrid. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, feeling like he was a child again. By the time his sobs died down, all the frustration was cleared out of his head, he could think straightly again. He'd never let anyone take his Astrid from him. She was his daughter, and no one was to take her from him. If he had to lose everything he had, fine. Everything didn't matter anymore as long as he had his daughter with him. He took a few deep breaths before he pulled away from his mother, his head felt dizzy from all the crying, but he shook it away.

"I need to find a lawyer," he said calmly. "I need to find a really good lawyer that will help me get my Astrid back. Blaise?"

"Yes?" his best friend answered. The were a few traces of tears on his face. Although years later, when Draco teased him about it, Blaise wouldn't admit that he'd cry when Draco broke down. He felt every pain Draco felt. He had been married with his wife Pansy for fifteen years, but they hadn't got a child yet, and they had thought Astrid as their own. If someone was taking Draco's child from him, it was like they were trying to take Blaise's child too.

"Do you have any suggestion in mind on which lawyer should I ask for help?"

One name immediately popped into his mind. One name that had been everyone's talk for the last twenty-two years. Blaise wondered though, whether Draco would shrug aside all his ego and pride, and asked for _her_ help. Even if Draco did, there was no guarantee that she'd help him.

"All I can think is one person," Blaise said slowly.

"Who?" both Malfoys asked at the same time.

"Hermione Weasley."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Sorry if for the waiting. I was rather busy for the last few days. I'm going to post the next chapter on next Thursday (hopefully). I promise, the next chapter will have Hermione _and_Draco.

Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think ;)

Amelia


	4. We Tried Everything

_You were just going back home from work, humming an old Muggle song you once heard. Your day was really hectic and you really couldn't wait to see your wife and your newborn daughter. You smiled inwardly, remembering how excited your wife had been when your little girl laughed at something she saw on that weird Muggle box people called a telly. You weren't expecting at all to find your wife lying dead on the cold stone of your Manor, pale and covered in blood. You felt like the whole world collapsed on you, and it slowly ceased to exist, along with you and your wife._

"Astoria!" Draco screamed, his eyes shot wide opened as he woke up with a start. He let out a shaky breath when he realised he was having the same dream again, like the ones he had for the last fifteen years.

"Yes, Draco?" a woman said. She was probably around twenty-five, looking really beautiful with her long black hair framing her porcelain-white face. Draco shook his head and began to chant the same thing he'd been taught by all those shrinks.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," he said with eyes closed. "I am forty years old. I have a daughter named Astrid Nymphadora, who's going to be sixteen next year. My wife's name is Astoria, and she died fifteen years ago."

He cursed under his breath when found the raven-haired woman was still there, sitting casually on his bed. "Astoria, please..." Draco whispered, running a hand through his hair.

"What? What have I done?" Astoria said.

Draco sighed, giving her one final look before he got himself ready. He was perfectly aware that she wasn't real, that she had died years ago. She hadn't aged a day every time he saw her, and she had the same blue dress like the one she wore when she died. Most of the time Draco wouldn't have a problem with her being around him, but after what had happened to him and his daughter, he began to realise that he was wrong when he insisted on never accepting Astoria's death. And now, not only him had to pay it, but Astrid as well.

"Where are you going, love?" Astoria asked. She was now sitting on the drawer, her fingers dancing from one tie to the other, like what she used to do when she was alive. Her long fingers stopped on Draco's favourite silver-green silk tie.

"To see Gran- I mean, Weasley," Draco said, taking the exact tie Astoria just touched. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, his own fingers dilligently making the familiar knots for the tie. In the mirror, he saw no one but him there.

"You mean Hermione Weasley? The notable lawyer?" Astoria said, waltzing around the room absentmindedly.

"Yeah, her. I need her help if we want our Astrid back... And Astoria?" he said before he exited his room with the papers he'd need for the case in his hand.

"Hm?"

"Can you please make no appearance during my conversation with Weasley? I don't want to freak her out by suddenly responding to a thing you said. It was hard enough for me from not doing so yesterday in front of Potter."

Astoria chuckled as she nodded her head, her laughter sounded so heavenly in Draco's ears. She took a few steps closer toward him, and tiptoed on her bare-feet to kiss his cheek. Draco swore, he could almost feel it.

_Almost._

* * *

Hermione woke up from her sleep, only to find her husband was nowhere in sight – not that she'd give a damn about it. Ronald Billius Weasley could be anywhere he wanted, and Hermione wouldn't care at all. She slowly got off her bed and began with her daily routine. As she got dressed, she thought of how her life had been for the last fifteen years. She married her childhood best friend, had a brilliant son together, and became the first and most successful female Magi-lawyer in the whole wizarding world. She had achieved so much, but yet she felt like such a sore loser.

Although no one ever said it to her face, people now called her 'The Heartless Heroine.' When she first began her career as a lawyer, people talked about how great she'd become. When she was finally a successful lawyer, people talked about how they'd known all along about it. When she found Ron cheating on her with a divorced Lavender Brown, which caused her to change into this cold and almost-heartless woman, people talked about how she was no longer the Hermione they knew. Since the day she found Ron cheating with Lavender, she shut herself off all emotions, vowing to her herself to never trust anyone ever again. Whenever she worked on a case, she was exceptionally aware on what people always talked on her back. She always shrugged off all the comment though, not wanting it to bother her work.

"Good morning, Hugo," Hermione greeted her fifteen year old son as she prepared to make break fast for both her and her son.

"Morning," Hugo answered indifferently.

"What do you want for today? Waffle or pancake or cereal?" Hermione asked, checking on what was inside the fridge.

"Whatever it is you have time to make," Hugo said emotionlessly. He was soon busy with the Muggle gadget in his hand, his headphone covering his ears. Hermione stared at him and sighed. The older he got, the more he distanced himself from her. She didn't even know what started it in the first place.

"So, how was school?" Hermione said, once again trying to make a conversation with her only child. Hugo merely shrugged, his head bowed down as he spooned the cereal into his mouth.

"Same old same old. Got Os for all subjects but Potion and DADA, which I only got Es."

"How about Quidditch?" Hugo snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Please, don't pretend as if you understand a shit about Quidditch."

"Hugo!" Hermione exclaimed. "I will not tolerate you again for saying such thing. I'm your mother, and you can't just say that in my face."

Hugo rolled his eyes for the second and got off from his seat. "I don't care what is it you want by starting this useless chit-chat with me, but whatever it is the reason, I'm not touched at all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going out for a smoke," he said before making his way into the balcony, leaving a shocked Hermione behind in her seat.

It was a few minutes later that Hermione realised she was crying. Her tears fell onto her flawless blouse, and she shed them away quickly. She immediately cleaned everything with a wave of her wand, forcing herself to stop crying. She then Apparated to the Ministry without saying another word, knowing exactly that it was unlikely for Hugo to answer her anyway. She hurried off into her office, intentionally avoiding all her co-workers. She felt safe once she was in his office, away from all the nosy people who always tried to poke their insufferable noses into her business. However, she hadn't worked for twenty minutes when there was a knock on her door.

"Yes?" she called out.

"Mrs Weasley? Can I come in?" said her assistant said.

"Oh, of course... What is it, Ingrid?" Hermione said once Ingrid had stepped into her room.

"There's a man out there, demanding to see you. A new client. He said it's urgent and wanted to see you _now._"

"Has he made an appointment before?"

"No. But, he's willing to pay one million Galleons if you want to help him."

The word one million quickly got Hermione's attention. It must be an important case if someone was willing to pay that much. "All right," she finally decided. "Let him in."

Hermione was having a drink of her usual tea when she nearly choked upon seeing who her newest client was. She knew of his problem already, having read it in the Evening Prophet, but she never thought he'd shrug aside all his pride and came for her help. Even if they didn't hate each other as much as they used to when they were kids, they hadn't talked at all ever since his trial. Hermione could still remember her defending him from not going into Azkaban, which was the first reason why she started to have any interest on becoming a Magi-lawyer.

"Good morning, Mrs Weasley," Draco drawled, taking a seat in front of Hermione.

"Morning, Mr Malfoy," Hermione replied stiffly. "What can I help you with?"

"I believe you've heard it that those self-rightous Ministry officers are trying to take my daughter from me. I plead you to shrug aside all our differences because I really need your help to win my daughter back."

Hermione took a moment to observe Draco closely. For someone who was declared mad, he didn't look mad at all to her. Restless? Yes. Nervous? Yes. Anxious? Yes. But mad? No. He looked perfectly in the right mind; and it even scared Hermione more. A sane man who seemed to be mad was a lot more dangerous than a mad man. A mad man couldn't use the sane part of his brain. She realised after awhile that she was staring at him, and hid it by pretending to look at the papers he had put on her table.

"Malfoy, you do know why they're trying to take her from you in the first place, right?" Hermione said carefully, afraid that she'd offend him. To her utmost surprise, Draco merely nodded his head.

"Yes, I do. They think that my unstable mental health makes me incapable of being a good father for my daughter."

"Then, you are aware that the chances we're going to win this case are – "

"I can't live without my Astrid, Granger," Draco said, seeming like he'd forgotten that she had changed her name into Weasley after she married that wanker who was probably off bedding Lavender Brown. "After my wife's death, Astrid's become my sole purpose in life. Without her, I can't survive this world."

"But, I – "

"Granger, Please," he practically begged. "Just give it a try. I'm not joking when I said I won't survive without her. If they take my girl away from me, I will die."

Everything about him was so heart breaking Hermione found her cold heart moved. She had never been able to feel anything more than sympathy ever since the day she found Ron cheated on her, and that had been happening for the last ten years. She also realised if she took the case, she'd prove to those sick vultures that Hermione Weasley, formerly known as Granger, was still able to feel. Without any second thought, Hermione made up her mind to take the case.

"Fine, I'll help you. I will try my best to help you get your daughter back."

"Thank you very much, Granger," Draco said, smiling albeit it didn't quite reach his eyes. Hermione remembered when they were still at Hogwarts, even if he was an insufferable prat, Draco Malfoy's smiles always reached his eyes. "Name the price, I'll be more than glad to – "

"No, no, no," Hermione said quickly. She didn't know why, even after years when she asked herself about it, but somehow, she didn't feel like taking his money, though the first reason why she accepted him was because the word one million Galleon.

"No what?" Draco asked, frowning.

"No, I can't take money from you. This case should have never happened to anyone at all, least of all you. And I'm not going to take advantages of it. I'm doing this for free, Malfoy."

"Granger – "

"If you insist, I'll take back my word. And good luck on finding another lawyer."

He didn't answer her for a moment, but in the end, he nodded his head in gratitude. "Thank you, Granger. I'm forever in debt to you."

Hermione shook her head firmly. "Don't say that. Just consider this as me repaying all your help for donating money to rebuild Hogwarts."

"But, that's got nothing with you."

"Yes, but without your money, my son won't be going to Hogwarts."

Draco nodded his head but said nothing more. "All right. I guess I've to go now. Once again, thank you," he said, taking Hermione's hand and shook it. Hermione managed to stop herself from flinching when he touched her. Not because of disdain, but of surprise. She found it really weird that such man like Draco Malfoy, he had really soft and warm hand.

"Where are you going after this?" Hermione said. "And please, don't think this as me prying on your business." Draco shrugged, not realising for even one second that he was still holding Hermione's hand. The Magi-lawyer though, she realised it.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to see Astrid. She's probably still upset after yesterday. I left her screaming and crying." He shuddered as if he was in pain; as if the memory of leaving his daughter screaming for him was torturing him literally.

"Can I go with you? My son's always talked about her and I wonder, which girl it is that's made my son feels so annoyed almost every day." For some reason, Hermione felt happy when she caught Draco grinned slightly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that your son's my girl's mortal enemy. Funny, isn't it, how fate works? And to answer your question, yes, you can."

Together, the two of them went to the Child Care Department in the Ministry, around three floors from Hermione's office, and two isles from the lift. They walked in silent side by side, trying to ignore the whispers and stares as best as they could. Draco looked immensely happy once they had set foot in the Child Care Department office. He spent no time and asked to see his daughter to the officer who was on duty. The smile on his face dropped almost instantly when the officer said he couldn't see her, saying that it wasn't the time yet. Hermione frowned, vaguely recalling that there was no time-table for parents who wanted to see their children in the Child Care Department. The brunette realise that the lying bitch was only making everything up.

"...but Potter didn't say – "

"Mr Potter probably forgot about it," the woman said. "You can wait here until the – "

"No, he's not going to wait for anything," Hermione said briskly. The officer's eyes shot wide opened, seeming like she hadn't noticed Hermione's presence before, even if she had been standing beside Draco all along.

"Mrs Weasley! To what honour do I have to – "

"I'm here with Mr Malfoy to see his daughter," Hermione said coolly, eyes narrowed into slits. "Astrid Malfoy? She's new."

"Oh, yes, Mrs Weasley. It's just this way. Please follow me. I'm _really _sorry for the delay." Hermione nodded her head, following the officer without any word, Draco walking beside her with a smirk.

"Astrid?" the officer said, opening the door to Astrid's room.

"Yes?" Draco heard his daughter's voice. Her voice sounded hoarse.

"Your father is here to see you."

"What? My father?" Astrid repeated. Draco stepped into the room right at that moment, smiling so wide Hermione found it extremely infectious.

"Daddy, you're here!" Astrid squealed like a child, leaping over her trunk to hug Draco. They hugged for quite sometime, with Astrid's face completely hidden against Draco's chest, and Draco's head buried in Astrid's long hair.

"How are you, Astrid?" Draco whispered. "Did they treat you well here?"

"I'm fine," she giggled, tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. "_Chaill mé tú an méid sin, Daid_."

Draco smiled, ruffling Astrid's hair before giving a kiss on her forehead. "_Chaill mé tú ró, Banphrionsa..."_

"Uh, Mr Malfoy," the officer started. "According to the law, you can't speak in another language except when – "

"Excuse me," Hermione interrupted loudly. "But will you just shut the _fuck_ up and go somewhere else? You really are starting to piss the heck out of me."

"But, Mrs Weasley – "

"I'm Hermione Weasley," Hermione snarled. "If you say another word, I'll go straight to your boss and tell him that you're such an incompetent employee. And by God, I will seriously do it."

The officer swallowed thickly. "All right. I'll leave you be."

"Good. Thank you." The officer nodded and left the room as soon as possible. The Malfoys, who had been watching the entire scene, let out a soft chuckle.

"That, Weasley, was really impressive," Draco said, grinning.

"Yeah," Astrid agreed, laughing. "I wonder why your son is such an arse. No offence though."

Hermione laughed. "Nah, none taken... So, you're the infamous Astrid Malfoy, huh? The girl my son and my nephew always talk about. Astrid Malfoy this, Astrid Malfoy that, Astrid Malfoy everything!"

"Did they say anything bad about me?" Astrid said. She didn't have the slightest idea about why _the _Hermione Weasley was doing with her father, but she'd try her best to impress the woman. Hugo Weasley may be the biggest jerk in the whole world, but it didn't mean Astrid didn't idolise Hermione. Oh, how Astrid always wanted to grow to be Hermione.

"Well, nothing that makes me dislike you, though. In fact, the more they talked about you, the more intrigued I was."

"That's so good to hear," Astrid said, smiling. She then gasped dramatically. "Dear Merlin, I forgot my manners. It's really nice to see you, Mrs Weasley." She gave out her hand to Hermione, who took it with her own smile on her face. Hermione began to see why both Hugo and James always talked about her. Astrid Malfoy was probably the most beautiful girl Hermione had ever the chance to meet. With all her father's most prided features, combined with her mother's feminine features, she looked almost angelic.

"Nice to see you too, Miss Malfoy. And please, call me Hermione."

"Only if you call me Astrid."

"Princess," Draco said, earning his daughter's attention once more. "Mrs Weasley here is my Magi-lawyer. She's going to help us to win the case."

"Really?" Astrid said, looking at Hermione with hopeful eyes. "You'll do that?"

"Why, yes, of course." Hermione was caught off guard when the blonde girl hugged her.

"Sorry," she said after she let go the brunette, grinning sheepishly. "I'm just so happy. If we win, which we definitely win, with you helping us, I'll be back with my father in no time."

"I hope so too, Astrid," Hermione said, although she secretly glanced at Draco, who avoided her eyes and looked at the window instead.

"Now, tell me," Hermione said, knowing that if she wanted to stay longer with the Malfoys, she'd have to initiate the talk. She was quite positive that most of the conversation would be dominated by her and Astrid. "Where did you learn to speak Irish? I always thought you Malfoys spoke French."

Astrid giggled, sitting on her bed. Draco sat beside her, and the girl automatically lay her head on her father's broad shoulder. Hermione herself took a seat in front of both blondes. "Well, you see, Daddy and I always think that we should have language that only the of us would understand together. We knew people always thought us Malfoys to be able to speak French, which we do, but we feel like we have to have another back-up, you know. So, one day, I told Dad..."

Hermione spent her morning with the Malfoys, talking and laughing at everything Astrid she was back in her room, alone to think of what had happened that day, she had a feeling that her new case wouldn't only change the Malfoys' lives, but hers as well.

* * *

**Translation (from Irish to English):**

- _Chaill mé tú an méid sin, Daid_ : I missed you so much, Dad.

- _Chaill mé tú ró, Banphrionsa _:I missed you too, Princess.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hello! Did it take long for me to finish this chapter? I hope it didn't. I've only started this today, actually, and I managed to finish it 6 hours. The reason about the delay was because I, as cliche as this sounds, had been so busy. The next chapter (hopefully) will be posted on Thursday, okay? ;)

Anyway, what did you think about this chapter? Was it long enough? And I admit, I like the idea of the Malfoys to have their secret language together. I mean, most of the Dramione stories I read, also the ones I wrote, have the Malfoys speaking in French. I feel like it's overused so I opted against it.

And oh, in case you're wondering on why I made Draco kept on calling Astrid as _Princess, _and why I pictured Astrid as this almost perfect girl, I'm going to explain about it now. First, the name Astrid means a beautiful Goddess in French. I think if Draco called her _Goddess, _it isn't so good to hear. In the end, I opted on _Princess _instead. And come on, admit it, Elle Fanning is such a pretty princess. I'd want to swap one of my sisters with her. Just kidding though :P So yeah, that's the reason why :)

Tell me what you think about this chapter, and thanks a lot for reading!

Amelia


	5. That Would Help Us

Hugo Weasley hated his parents. He wasn't joking about it. He really hated his parents. _Despised _them, even. The older Hugo got, the more Ron Weasley left the house. Oh, Hugo had always known that his father had an affair with his Muggle Studies Professor. He caught them having sex when he was only seven years old. He wanted to ask his father to take him James' house, when he heard another voice in his parents' bedroom. Hugo was about to ask who was it that Ron was talking with, since Hermione wasn't at home yet, when he heard the noises he heard wasn't of people talking at all. Carefully, he opened the door as gently as he could. He had to bite his tongue so hard to refrain him from making noises once he saw what his father was doing, before he ran as fast he his tiny legs could take him to his own room, locking himself for hours until his mother knocked his door. What he saw was scarred into his brain permanently, and Hugo could never forget it.

Hugo never told anyone about it. He didn't want to, it was too horrible. Back then, he still loved his mother, and he decided that if he told Hermione, she'd get hurt – and younger Hugo didn't want his mother to be in pain. He found out around three years later, a year before he went to Hogwarts, that his mother had known about it all along. That the woman had known about it, but did nothing about it. It made Hugo angry, so angry that all the love he had for his mother gone in almost only one night. She was Hermione Weasley, for crying out loud! She saved the world from eternal darkness when she was only eighteen. Why didn't she do anything about her husband cheating on her? Hugo hated her for letting Ron won. It was the main reason why he hated his mother. Sure, her lack of presence in his life was another point, but Hugo could manage if that was only the problem.

The only person who understood him was his cousin James. Even James didn't know half the truth of why Hugo hated his parents. Hugo was a little paranoid when it came to trusting people, though for the past few years, he'd learned that James was all right. They shared a lot in common; except James was loud and Hugo was quiet, James was lazy and Hugo was freakishly dilligent, James never had his focus in life while everything Hugo did was for his future.. People often thought that they were brothers instead of cousins. Wherever James was, you could bet that Hugo would be by his side. They practically did everything together, especially with them being sorted to Gryffindor together. From eating, doing projects, practising Quidditch, mischief making, and even teasing that infuriating girl Astrid Malfoy.

Astrid Malfoy. The girl who had been the reason for every trouble he had part in. Quite contraty to most people's believe, Astrid wasn't anything like her father used to be when he was a kid. When Hugo first met her, Astrid didn't show any sign of malice or evilness about her. She was rather quiet, calm, and laid-back. But when the girl was determined about something, such as beating Hugo in a test, she'd damn well be incredibly fiery and annoying. Most of the students in Hogwarts worshipped Hugo and James for being the children of the Golden Trio, but not Astrid. She looked as if she didn't care if Hugo and James were the children of God. And it intrigued the young Weasley. He found himself got restless when he didn't have a screaming-contest with Astrid in one day.

Whether he was willing to admit it or not, Hugo had feelings for the girl. He knew he was only fifteen, but as time passed, his feelings got stronger. It didn't help that Astrid grew into such a beautiful girl Hugo found it almost impossible that she was human. His fourth year felt like torture to him. They shared most of their classes together, and three of them had him and her to be partners. It was hard for him to pretend that he disliked her, when every night, that girl was inevitably always in his dreams. She was always alone, being Draco Malfoy's daughter, and although he pitied her, there was this selfish part of him who was thankful for it. If she had no friends, no other boys would dare to be with her. Hugo couldn't possibly imagine what he would do if one of those scumbags asked Astrid out.

"Hey, Hugo!" screamed James Potter as he barged into Hugo's room. "Wake up lazy arse! Wake up! Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty!" James said loudly in Hugo's room, hitting his cousin with a pillow on every he word he said. Groaning as he caught James' hand, Hugo opened his eyes.

"I'm up, you arsehole," Hugo growled, running a hand through his hair. James looked at him playfully, waving his hand in a way Ginny Potter always did whenever James pranked his sister Lily.

"Hugo Frederick, mind your language, young man," James said in a high-pitched tone. "Now, you go get ready or I'll tell your father about this." Albeit his annoyance, Hugo let a chuckle escaped his lips.

"You're so much like Aunt Ginny when you did that," Hugo as he went to his bathroom, his towel on his shoulder and his clean-clothes pressed between his body and his right arm.

"It kinda runs in our blood, you know," James shouted so that Hugo could his voice through the closed door of the bathroom. "Us who have the Weasley genes in our blood are incredibly loud and fussy. Except probably you, Hugo. You're the only one in the family who's quiet and cares so much about your image in public."

"Well, someone has to do it," Hugo said after he was finished, emerging from his bathroom. "Someone needs to break the tradition, right? Anyway, what are you doing here so early, Jamie?

"I don't know," James said, shrugging. "Your mother came asking my mother whether I could come with her to her office or not today. Mum said yes, and then Aunt Hermione told me to wake you up and told you to get ready. So yeah, that's why."

"Why did she want us to go with her?" Hugo said. Together, him and his cousin exited his room.

"Hell if I know," James answered. Break fast already served on the table, and the two brunettes ate their food in silence. A few minutes later, Hermione marched into the room, one hand holding her suitcase, the other was hugging a pile of papers to her chest.

"Morning, boys," she greeted, her face flushed from all the haste.

"Morning," they both answered, Hugo was less enthusiastic than James. If Hermione noticed that, she didn't show it.

"James, I'm sorry I've to steal your from your so early in the morning. I really need your help; you and Hugo. I promise once we're done, I'll let you two wander all over London until midnight."

"What is it that you want us to do?" Hugo said before James could express his gratitude to Hermione. His mother merely smiled.

"I'm not telling... Now, are you finished yet? We have to be quick."

Muttering curses, Hugo grabbed his backpack and followed his mother, his over-excited cousin behind him. He had to admit it though, he was curious about what Hermione had for him and his cousin. They Flooed together to the Ministry, and instead of leading them toward her office, Hermione took them to the Child Care Department; to be precise, to the halls where Hugo knew troubled children were being kept. He shared a look with James, whose brown eyes screamed the same question as the one Hugo had in his head. He didn't like surprises. Not even when he was a kid. Surprises meant he didn't know what was it he was going to face, ready or not. And Hugo didn't like the idea at all. He watched his mother nodded her head to a few officers, and even if he was unwilling to say that, a little bit of pride burst inside him when he saw how respected his mother was by the world. They arrived in front of a white door, where Hugo could see two figures inside it. Hermione knocked on the door, and voice Hugo was too familiar with said come in.

"You two wait here, okay?" Hermione said in a hushed tone. She opened the door, a big smile was on her face. "Hey, you two. How are you?"

"Hi, Hermione!" that voice said again. "I'm great, especially since you made Dad to be allowed to stay with me for the night. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, child," Hermione said. James and Hugo shared a look again, both recognising the voice Hermione was talking with.

"Can it be..." James trailed off. Hugo shook his head firmly.

"No," he said. "It can't be her. My mum's a total bitch if she takes to meet her when she knows damn well how we hate her."

_That's a lie, Hugo,_ a small part in him said. Hugo tried to ignore it.

"I want you to meet someone," Hermione said. "I figure since your father won't be able to accompany you until tomorrow, and him and I have to discuss about something anyway, you'd like some company for the day."

"Really? Who?"

Hermione pulled the door opened, and Hugo nearly had a heart-attack when he saw who was inside the room. Standing beside his mother was the infamous Draco Malfoy, the same guy who had been on the face of the Daily Prophet for the last four days. And just a few metres from Draco, sitting on a bed, looking immensely shocked, was Astrid Malfoy.

"Astrid, as you probably know, this here is my – "

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Hugo shouted. "Taking me and James to see her? Didn't you ever hear anything I told you? We _hate _her!"

"Hugo!" Hermione exclaimed. "Don't be – "

"Who wants to see you too, you pathetic excuse for a guy!" Astrid snapped. "No offense, Hermione, but I really don't like the guest your brought me."

"Like we'd ever want to be your guest anyway," James spat back, crossing his arms on his chest. "Had I known where Aunt Hermione was going to take us, I'd rather be at home, masturbating."

"Oh my _God_!" Hermione said, her face red in both anger and shame. Astrid lost her anger for awhile, and was blushing so furiously it rivaled Hugo's jacket. "James Sirius, Potter, you did not just say that in front of her. Merlin, I'm so going to tell your mother about this."

"Can't blame them, Granger," a laughing Draco Malfoy said, attracting everyone's attention on him. He almost laughed out loud when James said masturbasting.

"Can't blame them about what?" Hermione said. Draco laughed again.

"If this had happened to me, I'd probably say the exact same thing. Did you forget that three of them hate each other's guts so much?"

"That's the reason why I brought this to barbarians to see Astrid," Hermione said. "Their feud is simply ridiculous. What better way than for them to spend the day together?"

"Sure, but they're going to kill themselves in only three minutes, Granger. This is just like putting me and Potter and Weasley in one room. Would you trust us to be alone together? No, right?"

"They are only fifteen! And they don't have their wands with them. How are they suppose to kill each other without wands?"

"Dad taught me to fight the Muggle way," Astrid quipped, eyes were set in a mean glare at her mortal enemies. "He said that after the war, he learned some martial arts. I've been learning about it since I was five."

"See? My daughter is lethal," Draco said, trying so hard to hide his smirk from seeing the scared looks on the boys' face but failed miserably. "Trust me when I say she'll at least bust their balls off."

"I don't care," Hermione said stubbornly. "I still see this as a great opportunity for them to put aside their differences. Anway, I've brought them all the way. I don't have time to take them back home."

"We can go home by ourselves, thank you very much," Hugo said. Hermione ignored him.

"Come on, Malfoy," Hermione said. "We've got loads to discuss about; witnesses and all. Let's go."

"You sure you're not going to regret this? I don't want to take the blame if we find them dead by the time we're back here," Draco said.

"No, I'm positive. You two, be a gentleman and treat her well. Astrid, I give you the permission to kick my son and nephew if they do anything bad. See you later."

Astrid could still hear her father's laughter when the door was closed, followed by the sound of it being locked by a guard. She groaned immaturely and threw herself on her bed. "Oh, those two are so infuriating!" she screamed to her pillow.

"Yeah, that's what you got with my mother," Hugo commented dryly. Astrid lifted herself up, glaring murderously at both boys.

"Who ask you opinion, Weasley? And don't you dare to sit on my couch, Potter!" she added briskly to James, who was halfway from sitting on a nearby couch. James scoffed.

"Queen Bitch," James muttered, sitting on the couch, despite Astrid's words.

"Stinking dickhead," Astrid spat, throwing her sandal at him. James, with his Seeker reflexes, caught it before it could hit his head, silently admiring what a great Chaser she'd make.

"Whiny brat," Hugo said, carelessly positioning himself on the couch, sitting next to James. Another of Astrid's sandal flew at him. Hugo dodged it effortlessly, already knowing about it.

"Oh, aren't you two so mature," she said sarcastically. The boys ignored. Angry, she leaped off her bed toward them. She turned on the telly and kicked both boys away with her bare feet.

"Move," she said. James cocked his left eye brow, while Hugo cocked his right.

"What if we don't want to?" Hugo said. Astrid glared at him coolly, and the next thing he knew, Astrid had flung him over the couch before tackling him on the ground.

"You don't mess with me, Weasley!" Astrid said, her hand repeatedly hitting every inch of Hugo's skin she could find.

"What the..." James muttered, freezing in his seat as he watched his cousin, his quiet cousin, screaming at the attack Astrid launched at him.

* * *

"...so far, we only have your mother, one of your many shrinks, and Blaise Zabini as your witnesses. We need two more," Hermione said, making her way to her office.

"Two more?" Draco said grimly. "I barely have friends left, Granger. I can't find two more people."

"We'll manage that, don't worry, Malfoy," Hermione said. "And then you and Astrid have to talk to. We have to plan about everything you and Astrid are going to say. Especially Astrid." She then stopped dead in her tracks, and Draco almost slammed right into her.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"Oh, shit," Hermione cursed, running a hand through her perfectly brushed hair. "No wonder I feel something's missing... I left the files in Astrid's room."

"Oh," Draco said, relieved it was merely that. "Well, let's just take it. I believe the children won't be so foolish as to burn them." Hermione nodded her head and the two hurried off back to Astrid's room, not knowing at all what was happening in there.

* * *

"Malfoy, get off me!" Hugo said, using both of his hands as a shield.

"How does it feel to lose to a girl?" Astrid snarled, throwing another punch. "Take that, Weasley!"

"James, help me, you blithering idiot!" Hugo yelled, snapping James off his trance. The young Potter wrapped both his arms around Astrid and tried to lift her away from him. The girl struggled so hard in his arms that they ended up rolling on the ground, with James on top of Astrid.

"Gotcha!" James said, smirking smugly, effectively pinning Astrid to the ground.

Although he never said it, Hugo wasn't the only one who had feelings for the livid Malfoy Heiress. He grew nervous at the thought of a certain blonde girl lying underneath him. Too focused with his thoughts, he wasn't ready at all when Astris kneed him in his balls. He rolled off her, curled like a cat. Astrid put one of her foot on his chest to hold him in his place, at the same time dragging Hugo closer toward James by the ear. She then wrapped one leg over Hugo's hips, while putting all her weigh on James' body. She was about to taunt them some more when the door slammed opened, revealing a shocked Hermione Weasley and a smirking Draco Malfoy.

"Oh my God..." Astrid whispered, pulled herself away from both boys. Hugo quickly gathered himself to stand on her right, and James, as he cursed under his breath, on her left.

"Well, well, what were you three doing just awhile ago, kids?" Draco said, bitting his lip to refrain himself from laughing.

"Aunt Weasley, we can explain – "

Hermione lifted her hand and grabbed the files for the case. "You don't need to, James. Whatever it was you were actually doing, I don't want to know. I'll just pretend as if I don't know a thing."

"What?" Hugo said in disbelief. But both Hermione and Draco had exited the room again. He sighed, lowering himself to sit on the couch.

"Oh, aren't we screwed?" James mumbled. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"And whose fault that was, Potter?" she said. James shrugged, lying on Astrid's bed, much to her and Hugo's utmost horror.

"Obviously, that was your fault. If you didn't attack Hugo, this wouldn't happen. They wouldn't be teasing us about this."

Astrid gasped in disbelief. "Why, you – "

"Hey, hey!" Hugo yelled. "You two, just stop fighting!"

"He started it!" Astrid said, pouting. James scoffed.

"Whatever, Pretty Princess," he said.

"Oh, God, give me strength not to kill these two," Hugo mumbled. "Let's just make a deal, shall we? I bet my mother will try to get me and James here to visit you every day from now on. I propose a deal that whenever we're here, we have to be civil toward each other. Then, when we're back at Hogwarts, we can fight each other again. What do you think?"

Astrid thought about it, and found nothing wrong about it. James, on the other hand, agreed about it almost instantly, for the same reason as Hugo had. If they could stop acting as if they hated her, the least that could happen was for her finally stopped hating them.

"Fine, I agree," Astrid said. James nodded his head.

"Yeah, me too. Nothing can get wrong anyway, right?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Hi there! What do you think about this chapter? First of all, I'm incredibly sorry for the mistake you probably found. I post this while working on a project that's due tomorrow. I didn't have time to proof-read it. Second of all, I admit this chapter is kinda irrelevant to the whole plot. But, if you read on later, you'll find that I this chapter is necessary. And I also want to show you the real Astrid I have in my head had the case didn't happen. So yeah, I hope you like it.

And um, check the first chapter again if you forget on which actors/actresses portray your favourite characters, okay? ;)

Tell me what you think about this chapter, and thanks a lot for reading!

Amelia


	6. In Any Way Possible

Hermione had dragged the boys again to visit Astrid while she and Draco would be discussing more about the upcoming first hearing. It was only two days away from the first day of the court, four days since the day the boys visisted Astrid, and Hermione had finally found found two more witnesses that would help them; Draco's old friend Theodore Nott and Draco's sister-in-law Daphne Pucey, formerly known Greengrass. Theo said that he was merely paying an old debt to Draco when the Head of the Malfoy family had helped during the dark days after Nott senior's faced his sentence. Draco had helped him by funding for Theo's work as a Potion maker.

That day, Draco and Hermione were to meet Daphne in Hermione's office, where she was convinced that no one could ever hear their conversations with all the spells she put. After dropping the boys' in Astrid's room, Hermione and Draco quickly went to Hermione's office. Daphne was already waiting for them. It pained Draco to look at his sister-in-law. He saw too much of his wife in her. Except for the hair and eyes, Daphne was the exact copy of her sister. Everything about her reminded Draco of Astoria. Although her hair was almost as blonde as his, and her eyes were startling blue, she still looked _a lot_ like Astoria. That was the reason why Draco distanced himself from Daphne, because he couldn't stand looking at her for only three seconds.

"Mrs Pucey," Hermione said curtly, shaking Daphne's hand. "Thank you very much for coming all the way here from Hamburg to help us."

Daphne shrugged. "We're talking about my sister's daughter. There's nothing I won't do for Astrid." Her blue eyes flew at Draco, who saw his _wife _sitting beside Daphne. "Hello, Draco. How have you been?"

"I'll be much better once I'm with Astrid again," Draco said. He shook his sister-in-law's hand, but his eyes were set on Astoria. Hermione noticed his divided attention, mistook it as anxiety, and took the initiative to start the discussion for the day.

"It is actually against the law for us to discuss about what you're going to say," Hermione began. "But I suppose what the Ministry doesn't know won't hurt. And anyway, we won't be discussing much about the court. You said you wanted to talk to my client about something. What is it about?"

"I want to see my niece," Daphne said immediately. "And I want to talk about what's going to happen to Astrid if Draco loses the case."

"Excuse me, but I will not – "

"This is just for precaution, Draco. If you lose, I want to know what will happen to Astrid." When Draco didn't comment anymore, Hermione answered Daphne's question, while throwing a glance in Draco's direction.

"Well, she'll stay with the Child Care Departmen until we've decided who will be the right choice to be her parents – "

"Which will never happen – "

"Silence, Draco," Daphne snapped, causing Draco to roll his eyes. "Why can't I be her foster parents? Or perhaps the Zabinis? Blaise and Pansy are Astrid's Godparents, and I'm her auntie."

"As much as I hate to say this, but with Blaise Zabini's and Adrian Pucey's involvement in the War, the Ministry can't trust them," Hermione said carefully, not wanting to offend anyone. Daphne's eyes narrowed into slits, and for a moment, Hermione could almost see Astrid.

"Are you saying that because my husband and my best friend were Death Eaters, the Ministry judged them unworthy to take care of Astrid?"

"Pathetic Ministry," Astoria said in a sing-son tone.

"Yes, but – "

"That's bullshit!" both Draco and Daphne spat at the same time. If they realised it, both blondes ignored it blatantly.

"Blaise and Pansy love Astrid as if she was her own," Daphne said heatedly. "And both me and my husband love Astrid just as much as they are. No one can rival Draco's love for Astrid, but my love, and the Zabinis and my husband's, are more than enough than any other foster parents the Ministry can provide."

"Well said, sister," Draco heard Astoria said. He tried to ignore her. Again.

"Daphne's right," Draco agreed. "Although I haven't met her in fifteen years, but she's met Astrid for quite a few times since Astrid was born. If there's anyone I can trust Astrid with, it's either her or Blaise and Pansy."

Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is not my call to make, but I promise I'll try my best to make sure that if Malfoy loses, the custody of Astrid will either go to your Mrs Pucey, or to Mr Zabini. Now, do you want to see Astrid?"

"Oh, yes, please. It's been awhile since the last time I met her."

* * *

"What are we going to do today?" Astrid said. The boys had just arrived in her room. She was sitting on the couch, polishing her finger-nails.

"I don't know and frankly, I don't really care," James said, throwing himself to sit beside Astrid. After four days, both him and Hugo were getting much closer with Astrid they didn't hesitate anymore on sitting within her reach without receiving a punch in the head.

"I know what we're going to do," Hugo said, snapping his fingers. He opened the window and lit his cigarette, pretending like he didn't see the disapproving look in Astrid's eyes.

"What do you suggest, genious?" Astrid spat. "If you suggest us on pranking another Ministry officer, I'll have to say no. I don't want to get my dad in more trouble. Once is enough, thank you very much."

"Of course not," Hugo said, rolling his eyes. "I wanted you to teach us how to fight."

"What, punks like you never learn how to kick some arse?" Astrid scoffed. James was about to lit his own cigarette but Astrid snatched it from his hand and threw it into a trash-bin near her.

"Bitch," James muttered. If Astrid heard it, she ignored it.

"We can fight, but not like you do," Hugo said. "We – "

"You want it, not me," James said quickly.

"Fine. _I _wanted to learn how to fight properly. But don't tell anyone, 'cause it'll seriously ruin my reputation." He took Astrid's hand in his, feeling the familiar electric shot whenever his hand touched her. Astrid gasped visibly and James watched their intertwined hands with narrowed eyes.

"Please, Astrid?" Hugo said. Astrid swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Okay," she said, hating herself when she heard her voice wavering. "Lemme...lemme change my clothes first."

She went to the bathroom with her training clothes, leaving a scowling James and a starstruck Hugo. The Heir to the Potter fortune was quick to hide his displeasure though. He took off his jacket, carelessly putting it on Astrid's bed. Hugo followed his suit, except he was more considerate about putting his stuffs. After awhile, Astrid came out of the bathroom, in purple tank-top and gym short-pants. Right at that exact moment, there was a knock on the door and Hermione came in. The lawyer was surprised to see Astrid not in her usual worn-out shirt and jeans.

"Um, what are you kids going to do?" she inquired. Hugo rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Mum. Stop making everything seems like we're going to have threesome or anything."

"Weasley!" Astrid exclaimed, blushing furiously. Draco's laughter was heard first before he entered the room. Hermione admired and wondered at the same time, how exactly did Draco manage to stay cheerful and calm and all in front of his daughter, and when he was with her, he was a mess. She didn't ask him about it though, not even months after the case was finished.

"You know what, I don't want to know. I'm here because you have another guest, Astrid," Hermione said. Astrid flinched.

"Please don't tell me that it's Teresa Davies."

"Nope, it's someone better." The door opened wider and a really tall blonde woman stepped in. Astrid squealed in glee and went to hug her aunt. She never really knew her mother, only from the pictures Draco had hidden in the attic, but she knew that her aunt and Astoria looked alike.

"Hey, beautiful," Daphne greeted. "Miss me?"

"You have no idea," Astrid laughed. "How's Uncle Adrian? And my cousin Julian?"

"They're okay. They can't wait to meet you again after all this is over."

"Tell them I say hi."

"Will do, don't worry... So, what were you going to do? You never wear your training clothes except when you're going to train."

Astrid and the boys shared a look. "Um, we were... I mean, we were – "

"We wanted to teach her Quidditch," James cut in. "If she plays good, I'll try to convince my Captain so she can join _our _team."

"Hang on," Astrid said. "Are you saying that if I play good, you're going to convince Teddy Lupin, Head Boy and Captain of Gryffindor team, into taking me to your stinking team?"

"Yeah. Why? We're lacking of one Chaser and I know you always try for the position of Chaser."

"Are you really that stupid or what?" Astrid said. "Do you forget that I'm a Ravenclaw?"

"No. You're constant sarcasm always reminds me that you're a freaking Ravenclaw. So, why?"

"Well, I can't possibly join the Gryffindor team. That's treason."

"Do you want to play Quidditich or not? If you keep on waiting for the chance until stupid Alex Corner let you play, that means you'll have to wait until the end of the world comes. He will _never _let you to play, and you know that."

"But – "

"He's right, princess," Draco interrupts. "Your only chance of playing is to join the Gryffindor team."

"Fine. Let's just say that I agree, why are you so sure Lupin will let me join his precious team?"

"Simple," it was Hugo answered it this time. "He's a sucker when it comes to me and James begging him for something. He'll definitely say yes."

Astrid was lost for words. She wanted to play Quidditch so bad, and show all of those bitches and dickheads in Hogwarts how great she actually was. She was a little relieved when Daphne changed the subject of the conversation.

"Astrid, I want to talk about something with you," her aunt said. Astrid waved her hand, motioning her to just talk. But Daphne shook her head.

"No. Not here," Daphne said. "I need us, just you and me, to talk about this."

"Oh, okay. We can – "

"What's so important that you can't say in front of me? In front of everyone else?" Draco interrupted. Daphne clicked her tongue against the ceiling of her mouth in annoyance.

"Can't I have a private moment with my own niece?"

"No, you can't."

Daphne looked at Draco in disbelief. "What the hell are talking about? Of course I – "

"Dad never hides anything from me, and so do I," Astrid said softly, avoiding everyone's gaze. "Even if you talk about something in private with me, I'll tell Dad. You might as well say it now."

Daphne was lost for words. Hermione could only smile knowingly when the blonde woman glanced at her briefly. She knew exactly that Astrid and Draco trusted each other so much it almost became a problem for everyone. The former Gryffindor finally decided to leave, beckoning her son and nephew to follow her. Draco went to stand beside Astrid, whose hand instantly found his, gripping his hand firmly. From the corner of his eye, Draco saw Astoria watching his every move. He tried to ignore, as he always tried to do.

"So?" Draco said, tilting his head to his side. Daphne heaved deeply before she talked.

"Astrid, first of all, I want you to know that I love you very much. _So very much, _okay? And what I'm going to do doesn't mean that I hate your father or whatever – even though for most of the time, he's such a big pain in my arse." Daphne forced a laugh, but everyone knew she forced it.

"What do you mean, Aunt Daph?" Astrid said, her hold around Draco's hand tightened.

"I just want to tell you, since it seems that your father, albeit all the bullshit he obviously has told you about not hiding a thing from you, is determined to keep you in the dark."

"What?" Astrid whispered.

"Daphne, shut up," Draco muttered.

"You have to know that there's a really big chance that you won't go back home with your father. Ever," Daphne said, ignoring Draco,

"Daph, shut it."

"What are you talking about? He told me that he'll try everything to win me back."

"That's what he said. But, let's be logical about this. Do you think, with his record and his mental health, the Ministry will ever let him to win?"

"Daphne, that's enough. She's only fifteen, you airhead! You can't talk about logic with her. There's nothing logical about life."

"But, he's my father. They have no right to separate us." Tears had begun to fall from Astrid's eyes, and Draco was getting angrier the more Daphne talked.

"True, but that's when we're talking about normal cases. Your father isn't a normal case, honey. _Nothing_ about Draco Malfoy is normal. So now, I want you to know that if he loses, you won't be with him ever again. He's still allowed to visit, but just that. I'll try to make sure that Blaise or I will be your foster parents, but the point is, you can't be with your – "

"Oh, for _fuck's _sake_, shut up_!" Draco bellowed. "What's the point of saying these things to her? Can't you see that she's already in the point of breaking down? You're ruining her, _Greengrass!_"

"I only want her to know the truth, _Malfoy!_ You don't want to tell her, fine, I'll do the dirty work."

"No one ask you to!"

"Please, stop yelling," Astrid whispered, covering her ears with both of her hands.

"You think by hiding the truth from her is the best thing to do. Let me tell you that _it's not!"_

"Who are you to have the right to dictate me about what I should do and what I shouldn't?"

"Because you grew up as a spoiled brat and someone should really tell you what's best for you."

"Stop it. _Please."_

"Look who's talking. You think you aren't a spoiled brat yourself? You had servants since you were only five months old!"

"At least I grow up! And grow ups accept all the bad things they have to face."

"And do pray tell, what's that supposed to mean?"

"That means, you're incapable of taking care of yourself, let alone a fifteen year old girl. If you _grow up, _you won't be having any problems with your sanity, and this problem won't even happened!"

"Oh, you've crossed the line, you bi – "

"SHUT UP!" Astrid screamed, and the windows around her broke. Draco was quick enough to shield her from all the broken glasses with his body. At the same time, Hermione entered the room with two Ministry officers and James and Hugo. The officers quickly pulled Draco away from Astrid, who literally jumped into James' arms – much to Hugo's displeasure.

"Malfoy, you're bleeding!" Hermion exclaimed after awhile, seeing blood kept on rolling down his back profusely. Draco shrugged his pain away and went to Astrid. He took her hands in one of his much bigger ones, while his free hand cupped Astrid's cheek.

"Astrid, whatever your aunt said, don't _ever _believe her. You know I always tell you the truth, although not always in time. But believe me that we _will _be together again in the end. You trust me, don't you, princess?"

"I trust you, Daddy," Astrid whispered. Draco smiled and kissed her cheek. The officers had begun to pull him again.

"Good girl. I've to go now. Lots to do. I'll see you again tomorrow. Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine"

Astrid nodded her head and said, "Okay," as she watched the Ministry officers pulled Draco away from her for the umpteenth time that week.

"Take him to St. Mungo," Hermione instructed the officers. "His wounds need to be healed. And we have to go, Mrs Pucey. Visiting time's over. Kids, you two stay here. Cleaning service will come here and tidy everything. Don't say a word to them."

"Got it," Hugo muttered. Hermione nodded her head before she exited the room, Daphne following her closely.

James, who was still holding Astrid, took the girl in his arms to sit on her bed. Hugo went to sit beside her, one hand on her knee. Astrid wasn't crying anymore, but she didn't say a word. It felt like hours to both boys until the Malfoy Heiress talked.

"Can you two stay with me? At least until Hermione picks you up?" she said meekly. Hugo nodded his head automatically, and James flashed him a brief smile.

"Of course, Astrid."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the late update. I hope this chapter is worth the wait :D Next chapter will be of the court.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Amelia


	7. Even When There Are No Hopes Left

"Do you think we will ever win the case, Dad?" Astrid had asked Draco that night, catching the mentally disturbed wizard off his guard.

It was a day before the first hearing. Hermione had tried her best to convince the Ministry to let Draco stayed with Astrid that night. Although with much hesitation, the Ministry officers, most importantly the Child Care Department agreed to let Draco stayed with Astrid. The beautiful girl nearly knelt down and kissed Hermione's feet when she found out about that. Astrid missed her father terribly and despite having seeing him almost every day, it still felt didn't enough for her. Draco himself wasn't exactly all that happy, but it was because he didn't like the thought of owing so much to _the _Hermione Weasley.

"Dad, you haven't answered my question," Astrid reminded when Draco kept silent for a few minutes. They had been lying on Astrid's bed in silence for hours since they had dinner. Draco spent exactly thirty-seven seconds of another silence before he answered his daughter.

"I think we will, Princess," Draco said, even when he himself wasn't sure about it. Apparently, Astrid realised it, much to Draco's utter dismay.

"Daddy, tell me the truth," Astrid said softly. "I'm fifteen, just two years away from adulthood. I can handle ugly truths."

"To be honest, I don't know," Draco sighed after awhile. "At first, I thought we could get through this easily. I mean, we got by smoothly for fifteen years, didn't we? I had no doubts that we would again. But then, as days passed, and Gra-Weasley kept on reading me the laws and all, I began to doubt everything. Sure, no one can ever deny that Hermione Weasley is an amazing Magi-lawyer, but what about me? I'm insane and an ex-Death Eater. The world _loathes_ me."

"Will you...give up, then?" Astrid asked carefully. Draco turned his head to face his daughter, observing his daughter closely.

Fifteen years had passed and his daughter had grown into such a beautiful girl. He could still remember it very well when Astrid was just born, and how he had held the newborn Astrid in his arms. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his girl. If Astrid needed him to buy the great Buckingham Palace for her, he'd do it. If Astrid wanted to meet all the popular people, everyone, starting from _God _himself would be lining up in front of her and shook her hand. Draco would give up his everything for his daughter, even if it meant his life.

"No, Astrid," Draco said, pulling her closer to him. Astrid happily curled in his arms. "I promise you with my life, that I won't give up so easily."

"I know you won't," Astrid said smugly, causing a small smile to creep onto Draco's face. It was really small, and barely reached his eyes, but at least it was there. For Astrid, that was more than enough.

"Dad?" Astrid said one more time.

"Hm?" Draco responded, one hand stroking Astrid's hair absentmindedly.

"What do you think would happen to us, if Mum was still alive?"

"We'd be happier, that's for sure," Draco said quietly, imagining what would his life be if his wife was still alive. "You'd have all your birthday gowns sewn by your mother, we'd go on a holiday together, she'd teach you all about girls' stuff, and you'd probably have a brother or sister."

"A brother and sister..." Astrid repeated, her smile slowly grew. "If I had a brother or sister, I want them to be named Sirius or Nymphadora, after your cousins."

"Sirius and Nymphadora?" Draco laughed. "Are you sure you want to condemn your siblings forever into mockery?"

"Well, at least they're named after heroes. And no one messes with people who's named after heroes. I mean, take a look on James' brother. He's named after Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, and no one ever picks on him."

"I think that's more because he's the son of that Scarhead jerk."

"Fine. What about Frank Longbottom?"

"He's Neville Longbottom's son, and Longbottom senior happens to be your Herbology teacher. It's a suicide to mock the son of your professor."

"Teddy Lupin?"

"Remus Lupin's son, and also Potter's Godson. Another suicide mission."

"Colin Cree – ah shoot, he's Dennis Creevey's son..." Astrid went all mute for awhile, thinking of her other school mates. "Oh right, you're right," she finally said.

"Of course, I'm right. I was the second brightest wizard after Hermione freaking Granger," Draco said smugly. Astrid rolled her eyes, an amused smile on her face. Her smile faltered after a few seconds. Draco noticed right away.

"What's wrong, Princess? What's on your mind?"

"Can you tell me how Mum looked like when she was alive?" Astrid said carefully, afraid that her request was too much for her father. But, she needed to ask. For her, pictures weren't enough.

"Your mother was probably one of the most beautiful woman I'd ever met," Draco said easily. "As cliche as it sounded, that's the truth. In many ways, she looked like you more than you look like me. You've her lips, her nose and her chin. In fact, even if you have my grey eyes, your eyes look a lot like Astoria's. I see her in you, just like I'd have seen you in her."

Astrid caught her father's eyes flew briefly to the corner of the room, and she was curious about it. "Is she...is she with us now?" she asked timidly, looking at where her father was staring. Draco looked at Astoria, who had tears in her eyes as she looked at the both of them.

"Oh, she's always with us, Princess. Even if you're sane and I'm not, your mother is always with you."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Sorry for the late update, and for this short chapter. You might think this chapter is useless, but for me it's necessary if I want to describe Draco's relationship with his daughter. I promise the next chapter will be longer :D

Thanks for reading and please review!

Amelia


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